For some time I have been interested in the placebo effect, which might seem like an odd thing for a magician to be interested in, unless you think of it in the terms that I do, which is, "Something fake is believed in enough by somebody that it becomes something real." In other words, sugar pills have a measurable effect in certain kinds of studies, the placebo effect, just because the person thinks that what's happening to them is a pharmaceutical or some sort of a -- for pain management, for example, if they believe it enough there is a measurable effect in the body called the placebo effect. Something fake becomes something real because of someone's perception of it.
在相当一段时间我感兴趣于 安慰剂的效力, 通常一个魔术师是不会 对安慰剂感兴趣的。 但是如果你从我职业的角度考虑, 那就是使一些假的事物 真实得使人们相信 这样它们就变成了事实。 换句话说, 糖片 在一些研究中有可以测量到的效应, 所谓的安慰剂的效果 正是因为人们认为 他们身上发生的是一种药物作用 或者再给一个例子 为了镇痛 如果病人相信(他们服的是镇痛药物),药在他们身上就会有明显的效果。 这叫做安慰剂效应。 假的东西变成了 真的东西 因为人们对它的认知。
In order for us to understand each other, I want to start by showing you a rudimentary, very simple magic trick. And I'm going to show you how it works. This is a trick that's been in every children's magic book since at least the 1950s. I learned it myself from Cub Scout Magic in the 1970s. I'll do it for you, and then I'll explain it. And then I'll explain why I explained it.
为了我们能够理解对方, 我想开始向你们展示一个初级的, 很简单的魔术。 我也会告诉你我是怎么变得。 这是一个 从50年代开始就在每个孩子的 魔术书里出现的简单魔术。 我在70年代的时候从童子军魔法中学会它 我先做给你们看, 然后再解释。 最后我会解释我为什么要解释。
So, here's what happens. The knife, which you can examine; my hand, which you could examine. I'm just going to hold the knife in my fist like this. I'll get my sleeve back. And to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve I'm just going to squeeze my wrist right here. That way you can see that at no time can anything travel, as long as I'm squeezing there nothing can go up or down my sleeve. And the object of this is quite simple. I'm going to open my hand, and hopefully, if all is well, my pure animal magnetism will hold the knife. In fact it's held so tightly in place that I can shake it, and the knife does not come off. Nothing goes up or down my sleeve, no trickery. And you can examine everything. Ta-da! (Applause)
看,这是怎么变这么魔术 这把刀, 你们可以检查; 我的手, 你们也可以检查 我就这样把刀握在我的拳头里。 然后我把袖子挽起来。 同时确保没有任何东西可以在我袖子里上下活动 我就这样在这压住我的手腕。 那样你们可以看到没有时间让 任何事物活动。只要我压住这里 没有东西可以通过我的袖子。 这样做目的很简单。 我将打开我的手掌 希望, 如果所有事情顺利的话, 我的生理磁性会粘得住这把刀。 实际上,它粘得如此紧 我甚至可以甩 这把刀(它)也不会掉。 没有任何东西在我袖子里, 没有把戏。 你们可以查看所有东西。 好了! 鼓掌
So, this is a trick that I often teach to young children that are interested in magic, because you can learn a great deal about deception by studying this very -- even though it's a very simple trick methodologically. Probably many of you in the room know this trick. What happens is this. I hold the knife in my hand. I say I'm going to grab hold of my wrist to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve, that is a lie.
恩, 这是一个我经常教给 那些对魔术感兴趣的孩子的魔术, 因为你能学到 很多关于欺骗的技巧通过学习 这个魔术--尽管它是个方法上非常简单的魔术。 很可能现场很多人都知道这个魔术。 它是这样发生的。 我手里握着这把刀。 我说我要握住我的手腕 来确保没有东西通过我的袖子, 这是个谎言。
The reason I'm holding onto my wrist is because that's actually the secret of the illusion. In a moment when my hand moves from facing you to being away from you, this finger right here, my index finger is just going to shift from where it is, to a position pointing out like this. Nice one. Someone who didn't have a childhood is out there. (Laughter)
我握住我手腕的原因 正是这个幻术的 秘密。 在我手从面向你们移到 背向你们的时候, 这个手指, 我的食指就将移位 从这儿,到这个位置 指向外侧。 好的。 (看来)那边坐的人很多没有过童年。 笑声
So, it goes like this, from here, right. And as I move around my finger shifts. And we could talk about why this is deceptive, why you don't notice there are only three fingers down here, because the mind, and the way it processes information, it doesn't count, one, two, three. It groups them. But that's not really what this is about. Right? And then I open my hand up. Obviously it's clinging there, not by animal magnetism, but by chicanery, my index finger being there. And then when I close my finger, same thing, as I move back, this motion kind of covers the moving back of my finger. I take this hand away. You give the knife out. There is a trick you can do for your friends and neighbors. Thanks.
我的手指就是这样移的,从这里,对。 在我转动我的手时,我的手指也在移动。 我们可以谈谈为什么这个具有欺骗性, 为什么你们没有注意到只有三个手指在这下面, 因为你的意识,和我们处理意识的方式, 它不计算一,二,三。 它组合它们。 但这不是我们今天要讨论的。对吗?那我再打开我的手掌。 很显然它被按在那,不是通过什么生理磁性, 而是通过骗局, 我的食指在那里。 我再合上我的手指,一样的, 在我后转时,这个动作 一定程度上掩饰了我手指的后转。 我拿开这只手。你拿出这把刀。 这个戏法你可以向你的朋友和邻居做。谢谢。
Now, (Laughter) what does that have to do with the placebo effect? I read a study a year or so ago that really blew my mind wide open. I'm not a doctor or a researcher, so this, to me, was an astonishing thing. It turns out that if you administer a placebo in the form of a white pill, that's like aspirin shaped -- it's just a round white pill -- it has some certain measurable effect. But if you change the form that you give the placebo in, like you make a smaller pill, and color it blue, and stamp a letter into it, it is actually measurably more effective. Even though neither one of these things has any pharmaceutical -- they're sugar pills. But a white pill is not as good as a blue pill. What? (Laughter) That really flipped me out.
现在,(笑声) 这和安慰剂效力有什么关系? 我一年前左右读过一个研究, 这很开阔了我的认知。 我不是医生或研究人员,所以,这对我而言, 是一件很让人吃惊的事。 它显示如果你给病人 一个安慰剂以白色药片的形式, 像阿司匹林的样子, 如果就是一个圆的白色药片,它有一定的可测量的安慰剂效应。 但如果你改变你给的安慰剂的形状, 比如你把它作成小一点的药片, 并且涂成蓝色,刻一个字母上去, 它居然会有更明显的可测量的效果。 即使两个里面没有一个 有任何真正的药效 --它们都是糖片。 但是白色药片就是没有蓝色的效果好 什么?(笑声) 这真的让我很迷惑。
Turns out though, that that's not even where it stops. If you have capsules, they're more effective than tablets in any form. A colored capsule, that's yellow on one end and red on the other is better than a white capsule. Dosage has something to do with this. One pill twice a day is not as good at three pills -- I don't remember the statistic now. Sorry. But the point is ... (Laughter) ... these dosages have something to do with it. And the form has something to do with it. And if you want the ultimate in placebo, you've go to the needle. Right? A syringe with some inert -- a couple CCs of some inert something, and you inject this into a patient ... Well this is such a powerful image in their mind, it's so much stronger than the white pill.
但事实上,那还不是终结。 如果你用胶囊, 它们比任何形式的药片更有效果。 有颜色的胶囊,一端黄色,另一端红色的 比白色的胶囊更有效。 剂量起到一定的作用。 一天两次,一次一片 没有三片效果好。 我现在记不清统计数据。对不起。 但重点是。。。 (笑声)剂量和药效有关。 药剂形态和药效有关。 如果你想要极限程度的安慰剂 你需要注射针剂。 对吗?一个注射器含有 一两毫升的没有作用的东西, 你把这个注射到一个病人身上。。 在他们脑海里,这是一个如此强大的想像, 它应该比白色药片要强很多很多。
It's a really, this graph, well I'll show it to you some other time when we have slides. The point is the white pill is not as good as the blue pill is not as good as the capsule is not as good as the needle. And none of it has any real pharmaceutical quality, it's only your belief that makes it real in your body and makes a stronger effect. I wanted to see if I could take that idea and apply it to a magic trick. And take something that is obviously a fake trick and make it seem real. And we know from that study that when you want reality, you go to the needle.
这真是一个很强的想象,等我有幻灯片的时候 我可以展示给你们统计数据图。 重点是, 白色药片没有蓝色药片好 没有胶囊好,没有针好。 它们都没有真的药效。 这仅仅是你的信念使它成真 在你身体上,也造成更强的效果。 我想看看我是否可以拿这个想法 把它应用到魔法技巧上。 采用一些明显是假的戏法 使它看起来是真的。 我们从研究中知道 如果你想要实际效果,你采用注射针。
This is a seven-inch hatpin. It's very, very sharp, and I'm going to just sterilize it a tiny bit. This is really my flesh. This is not Damian's special-grown flesh. That's my skin right there. This is not a Hollywood special effect. I'm going to pierce my skin and run this needle through to the other side.
这是一个七寸的帽别针。它非常尖。 我将把它消一下毒。 这真是我的肌肉。这不是 戴米安的特买肉。 这就是我的皮肤。这不是好莱坞特效。 我将会刺入我的皮肤 把这个针头穿过到另一边。
If you're queasy -- (Laughs) if you faint easily -- I was doing this for some friends in the hotel room last night, and some people that I didn't know, and one woman almost passed out. So, I suggest if you get queasy easy that you look away for about the next 30 -- in fact, you know what, I'll do the first bad part behind it. You'll get to see, you can look away too if you'd like to.
如果你容易紧张反胃--(笑声) 如果你容易晕--我向一些朋友表演过 昨天在宾馆里,有些人我不认识, 有个女人差点晕倒。 所以,我建议如果你容易紧张不安, 你最好在下面30秒里看别处, 实际上,你知道吗,我会在它后面做一开始的坏的部分。 你将会看到,你可以看别处如果你想的话。
So, here is what happens, right here, the beginning of my flesh at the lower part of my arm I just make a little pierce. I'm sorry, man. Am I freaking you out? OK, and then just through my skin a tiny bit, and then out the other side like this. Now, essentially we're in the same position we were in with the knife trick. (Laughter) Sort of. But you can't count my fingers right now can you? So, let me show them to you. That's one, two three, four, five. Yes, well...
恩,这就是发生的,就在这里 我皮肉的起点处 我手臂的下部, 我就造成 一个小穿孔。 对不起。我吓倒你们了吗? 就穿过我的皮肤一点点 在另一端这样出来。 现在, 我们基本上和刀的戏法 在同一个位置上。 (笑声) (差不多) 但你现在不能数我的手指了,对不? 所以,让我来把它们展示给你们。一,二 三,四,五。 是的,哦,
I know what people think when they see this. They go, "Well, he's certainly not dumb enough to stab himself through the skin to entertain us for a few minutes. So, let me give you a little peek. How's that look out there? Pretty good. (Laughs) Yeah, I know. (Laughs) And the people in the back go, "OK, I didn't really see that." People in the satellite room are starting to move in now. Let me give you good close look at this. That really is my skin. That is not a Hollywood special effect. That's my flesh, and I can twist that around. I'm sorry. If you're getting queasy, look away, don't look at the thing.
我知道人们想什么当他们看到这个的时候。 他们说,“哦,他一定不会蠢到 刺穿他自己的皮肤来娱乐我们几分钟。” 所以,让我给你们偷看一下。 那看起来怎么样?很好。 (笑声) 对,我知道(笑声) 在后面的这些人说,“好。我并没有真的看到那个。“ 在远程屋里的人现在 可以移近。 让我给你们仔细看看这个。 这真的是我的皮肤。这个不是好莱坞特效。 那是我的肉,我还可以转动它。 对不起。如果你感到恶心的话,看别处, 别看这个。
People in the back or people on video years from now watching this will go, "Well yeah, that looks kind of neat in some sort of effect there, but if it were real he would be -- see there's a hole there and a hole there, if it were real he would be bleeding. Well let me work up some blood for you. (Laughter) Yes, there it is. (Applause) (Laughter)
在后面的人或是几年后从录像上看到这个的 会说,“喔,那个看起来有点缺少 一些效果,但是如果这是真的他会 看到这有个洞,这也有个洞,如果这是真的他会流血。 让我流点血给你们。 (笑声) 对,这就是。 (掌声) (笑声)
Normally now, I would take the needle out. I would clean off my arm, and I would show you that there are no wounds. But I think in this context and with the idea of taking something fake and making it into something real, I'm just going to leave it there, and walk off the stage. (Laughter) I will be seeing you several times over the next few days. I hope you're looking forward to that. Thank you very much. (Laughter) (Applause)
平常这时我会将针头取出。 我会洗干净我的手臂,向你们展示我没有伤, 但我认为在这种情况下 以这种理念,使假的事物 变成真的事物, 我就将停在这里, 走下讲台。 (笑声) 我将在以后几天内再见到你们。 我希望你们对此期待。非常感谢。 笑声 (掌声)